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Crop Insurance

The Citizens Team:

  • We specialize in crop insurance and serve our customers by tailoring a plan to fit your farming operation and maximize your returns. 
  • We will help you develop a crop insurance program that will be the foundation for a sound marketing plan, give you the protection you want and the peace of mind you deserve. 
  • We work with dependable, knowledgeable companies.
  • We will continue to maintain good working relationships with other agribusinesses to generate quality information that allows you to make better, more informed decisions.

If you want to find out more about our products and services, or you have a question, please Contact Us

Important crop insurance dates for corn and soybeans in Iowa:

Date Corn Soybeans
Sales closing date March 15 March 15
Earliest planting date April 11 April 21
Final planting date May 31 June 15
End of late planting period June 25 July 10
Acreage reporting date July 15 July 15
Premium Due date August 15 August 15
End of insurance period December 10 December 10
Policy termination date March 15 March 15
Production reporting date April 29 April 29

Revenue Protection (RP)

Revenue Protection is available for major crops in Iowa. The revenue guarantee is based on the actual production history (APH) yield and the average new crop futures market price during the month of February, just as for a Yield Protection policy. The insurable price times the APH yield times the level of coverage chosen equals the gross income guarantee. Coverage options are 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, and 85 percent. If prices for the insured crop are higher by harvest time, the revenue guarantee increases accordingly, with no additional premium. The maximum increase in the insurable price is 100 percent of the February average price. The revenue guarantee cannot be lowered, however. If the producer’s actual gross revenue, calculated as the actual yield times the average new crop futures during the month of October, is below the insured level an indemnity payment equal to the difference is paid. Thus, indemnity payments can be triggered by various combinations of low prices and low yields. The harvest price used to calculate the actual revenue cannot be more than 100 percent higher than the February price (double).

Yield Protection (YP)

Yield Protection insurance protects against production losses from a wide range of natural causes. Producers can choose to insure their crops at levels ranging from 50 to 85 percent of their actual production history (APH) yield. These bushels can be insured at a price ranging from 55 percent to 100 percent of the projected price each year. The projected price level is the average new crop futures market price during the month prior to the sales closing date. Average prices during February are used for corn (December contract) and soybeans (November contract). If the farm’s actual yield is less than the guaranteed yield, the YP payment is equal to the production deficit multiplied by the price election. Premiums increase in direct proportion to the price coverage level selected, and at an increasing rate for higher yield guarantees. The level of government subsidy of the YP premiums ranges from 100 percent at the lowest yield and price coverage level (catastrophic) to 38 percent at the maximum coverage level. Prevented and delayed planting provisions have been very important to Iowa producers in recent years. When planting is delayed until after the final planting date set by the Risk Management Agency (RMA), the level for the yield guarantee on the insured crop is reduced by 1 percent per day for the next 25 days. Delayed planting provisions take effect on June 1 for corn and on June 16 for soybeans. If no crop at all can be planted (prevented planting), the guarantee remains at 60 percent of the original level. Prevented planting provisions apply after the final planting date for the crop. Prevented planting coverage can also be raised to 65 or 70 percent of the original level, for an added premium, before the insurance sales closing date.

Group Risk Income Protection (GRIP)

Gross revenue can also be insured under a group risk policy. This plan is known as Group Risk Income Protection, or GRIP. The income guarantee level is based on the county expected yield and the average futures price during the month of February. Likewise, the actual gross revenue is based on the actual county yield and the average futures price at harvest (October for corn and soybeans). Trigger levels and indemnity payments for GRIP are calculated in a manner similar to that used for the Group Risk Plan (GRP), and a harvest price option is available. The maximum dollar value of coverage that can be selected for GRIP is equal to 150 percent of the expected county yield times the February futures price. The minimum is 90 percent. The GRIP policy generally has a lower premium than comparable farm level coverage, and does not require any farm production history. This makes GRIP attractive to producers who have no production records, or a low APH yield. Producers whose farm yields closely follow the year-to-year pattern of the county averages receive the most risk protection from GRIP. Because payments are not based on individual farm yields, however, some short-term yield risk remains.

Three reasons to consider adding hail coverage 

First, you’ve accepted a large deductible by limiting coverage to only a multi-peril crop insurance policy. Should hail damage occur, the 15 to 35 percent deductible you’ve accepted (electing 65 to 85 percent coverage) has never represented more dollars per acre at risk. Net returns to a harvested crop were at extremely high levels in 2012. With profit margins two to three times above normal, it could be devastating to the farmer’s long term future to lose a large portion of this year’s crop.

Second, if you elected to use enterprise units on your multi-peril policy, all fields planted to that crop are combined at the county level should a loss occur. The decision to elect enterprise units is popular, as it might cut farmer paid premiums by as much as 50 percent. However, the use of enterprise units potentially exposes individual farms to a hailstorm, while the rest of the unit may not suffer loss. Protection from spotty loss events such as hail on one farm and not others is more important if you’ve elected enterprise units.

Third, crop insurance companies are providing hail insurance at historically low rates. According to filings made to state insurance departments, crop hail rates are significantly less than their expected losses. Current crop hail rates would have to be twice as high to cover claims and expenses for an average loss year.